


That I should rise and you should not

by DottoraQN



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, He/Him Pronouns for Mollymauk Tealeaf, Mighty Nein as Family, Other, There's an opening there for resurrection, gratuitous use of zemnian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24517756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DottoraQN/pseuds/DottoraQN
Summary: This is the sad followup for Tarot and Tradition
Relationships: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Kudos: 31





	That I should rise and you should not

**Author's Note:**

> I put this into a different work to distance the sad from the shippy goodness

Caleb was glad that the others had wanted to visit the shops and had put up little resistance when he declined. As soon as he saw Jester’s tail sweep out of the door, he had sprinted to his room, tearing through his belongings to find a book that he had bought years ago. He opened the familiar tome of smut to the back page where some other sad and lonely soul had transcribed _Contact Other Plane_ between the lines of the last chapter of the book. It was ironic, the mage in the book being the one that died at the end, the fortune teller stealing moments with him when he could through his practice. The spell was short, only requiring a few arcane words and minimal glyphs, so it took the wizard no time at all to transcribe into his spellbook. He went over the words in his head what seemed like a thousand times before finally working up the courage to speak them, concentrating on the once sweet memories of his fallen partner.  
  
“Caleb Widogast...” a low voice said in his ear, noticeably devoid of the distinct brogue that he wished to hear. “What questions do you have for me?”  
  
The wizard spun around suddenly, his skin crawling. Behind him was a man who, while shorter than Caleb, seemed to take up the entire room with his presence. He wore intricately engraved black leather armor accented with jet black feathers. His face was shielded by a mask made to look like a raven, his hair covered by a dark hood, and some strange type of fungus growing off of one shoulder.  
  
Before Caleb could stop himself, his first question tumbled out of his mouth, “Ja, ah, I- Who are you?”  
  
The figure sighed visibly, looking away from Caleb momentarily, considering his words, “I know I am... not who you wanted to see. The Matron sends me in place of those who have passed.”  
  
Caleb’s eyes welled up. He knew that the faintest glimmer of hope that the vague description of the spell gave him was too good to be true. He sank to his knees, the tears streaming openly down his face. _Schiße, too good to be true,_ he thought, painstakingly picking the words of his next question.  
  
“Have you seen him there?” he asked, his voice shaking.  
  
“Yes,” the raven-clad figure said, shifting uncomfortably. Caleb watched him for a moment, before the figure seemingly made a decision. He knelt in front of Caleb, mirroring his position, carefully removing his mask and hood. When Caleb looked up, the concerned face of a young half-elf greeted him, his long, black hair adorned with beads and trinkets. “I am going to break the rules for you, because I feel a kinship with you, Caleb Widogast. I knew too many people in your position. Ask your next question.”  
  
Caleb took a shuddering breath, wondering exactly what “break the rules” meant in this context. He finally asked, “Is he... alright?”  
  
The half-elf smiled, cocking his head to the side. “I told you I’d break the rules, but the 5 question limit I have to stick to. When beings die, some wish to return to this plane and some do not. He told you stories of reincarnation, no? Well this was his last. He’s waiting for you, patiently, for once.”  
  
The wizard smirked in spite of himself. Even this melancholy emissary knew how impatient Mollymauk could be. His words about the tiefling’s state of existence hurt, as did remembering what the gaudy man meant to him, but like the latter, the former statement brought with it a sense of peace. Mollymauk wasn’t suffering in some pit in the 9 hells like he always joked he would be, he was ok.  
  
“Ja, well I see that his reputation preceded him,” _Caleb said. Götter, did he just make a joke? At a time like this?_ “Is there any chance for him to come back?”  
  
Sighing, the man looked back at Caleb, compassion in his eyes. “I cannot give you a yes or a no, only a maybe. The threads of fate are tangled for that one, as they are for so many of us. Time will tell.”  
  
Caleb looked down, his last question hitching in his throat. He knew what the answer would be, but he had to ask, “Can I... Can I see him... one more time?”  
  
Getting to his feet, the half-elf reached down to pull Caleb up to his level. His hands were cold, but comforting. He replaced his mask and hood swiftly, his face betraying no emotion. He took a deep breath before saying, “Caleb Widogast... Yes, you may.”  
  
The wizard started at the words. Yes? The man sent by the goddess of death had just told him that he could see his beloved again. That could not be correct, this had to be some sort of cruel game. Caleb blinked and the dark haired man was gone, a few downy raven feathers drifting to the ground where he once stood.  
  
“What did he mean by ‘yes?’” Caleb wondered aloud. He turned back to where his spellbook sat on the desk in his bedroom, intending to restore it to its home in the holster next to his ribs, but was startled by a knock at his door.  
  
_No, it couldn’t be,_ he thought, turning slowly. He approached the door cautiously, like it would eat him if he made a sudden movement. As he reached for the handle, the door swung inward, causing Caleb to stumble backwards and catch himself on the wall.  
  
“Hey, Caleb...” a familiar voice said. Caleb froze. This was like before, like at the asylum, when he thought his parents came to visit. There was no way that Mollymauk could be here, now. He turned back around slowly, opening his eyes. He was greeted with the beautiful red eyes of his lover, mere feet away from him. Speechless, Caleb hesitated to place his hands on the other man’s shoulders, afraid that the tiefling was an illusion and that his hands would pass right through him. Molly let him take his time, slowly grabbing and guiding Caleb’s hands to his shoulders. As soon as Caleb’s hands made contact, a broken sob wracked his thin frame and he collapsed into Molly’s arms.  
  
“It’s ok, darling,” Molly soothed, stroking Caleb’s auburn hair gently.  
  
“B-but, Schatz, how are you here, in front of me?” Caleb asked.  
  
“Well, a lot of people give the Raven Queen a lot of shit, but she’s actually not all that bad. We never got to say goodbye, so she’s letting me visit, for a moment,” Molly said, looking past Caleb’s head. Across the room in a corner by the window, a tall woman loomed over the room, her face a blank porcelain mask. Molly sighed, turning his attention back to Caleb.  
  
“Darling, I don’t have long,” he said, pulling the wizard back so that they could look at each other face to face. “I love you, and I’ll always love you, no matter what plane I’m on.”  
  
Caleb swallowed thickly, forcing himself to stand straight and commit everything about this moment to memory. Mollymauk Tealeaf stood in front of him, in the flesh, but noticeably different. His general appearance remained the same, his low cut loose shirt and ostentatious breeches that he always wore exactly the same as the day he died, but there was no coat. When Caleb looked a little closer at his partner’s exposed skin, he noticed the spear wound that killed him was outlined in a darker purple than the tiefling’s skin color, almost like a bruise. The mark could have fooled him for just that, if it hadn’t been shaped like a raven spreading its wings.  
  
The wizard placed a hand over Molly’s heart, counting the beats. _Eins... Zwei... Drei..._ all the way up to twenty in the next minute. Much lower than any warm blooded living being’s heart rate had any business being. When Caleb looked up at Molly from his hand on the tiefling’s heart, Molly chuckled and gave him his favorite half-cocked grin.  
  
“Borrowed time, love,” he said, simply.  
  
“Ja... I see,” Caleb said, starting to look down to hide the tears stinging in his eyes, but Molly didn’t let him finish the gesture. He placed his hand gently on Caleb’s chin, keeping their eyes locked as tears streamed out of both mens’ eyes, Molly’s pupil-less red ones matching Caleb’s piercing blue gaze.  
  
“If you... need to go soon, Schatz,” Caleb continued, trying to find words to convey what he was feeling. “I understand, I guess. I love you, too.”  
  
Molly kissed Caleb deeply, pulling the wizard into a firm hug after they broke apart and kissing the top of his head. He whispered, “We’ll be together soon, darling, I promise.”  
  
And just as suddenly as he had appeared, Mollymauk was gone again. The extended shadows in the room returned to normal and Caleb was left with empty arms, chasing the slightly lingering scent of the man he loved. While tears did stream down his face, his mouth formed a small smile. Of course Molly would work out some deal with the goddess of death to come visit him to say goodbye, properly.  
  
Caleb walked back over to his spellbook, closing it softly and tying the leather straps that held the thick book closed. “Long may he reign,” he said to himself softly, before tucking his book into its holster and heading downstairs to see if the others had returned from their shopping trip yet.


End file.
